Daydreamer
by nuseble
Summary: "Cherry's heart skips a beat with a little bit of excitement. Something that she hasn't felt in awhile from anything other than new kitchen appliances, her husband getting a raise at work or getting rid of creaky floorboards in her bedroom." Future!fic taking place eight years after the events of the Outsiders.
1. Monotony

**I blame this completely on Mars over at 731 St. Louis who put some plot bunnies in my head that wouldn't leave me alone. The title comes from the Adele song 'Daydreamer'. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

_Daydreamer_

_Thump. Squeak. Thump._

The red haired woman rolls over underneath the soft duvet sprinkled with printed flowers that roam across her form, nightgown wrinkling and stretching to accommodate her movements. Her mind protests the noises, hands grabbing at the pillow that smells like her lavender shampoo. The cool side of the pillow, a treasure in the simple, quiet hours of the morning does nothing to block out the noises coming from somewhere in the house. She feels the morning sun on her back, warming her shoulders where light freckles dot her skin.

It's this that finally pulls her out of her sleepy stupor. She pulls herself to the edge of the bed, bare feet planted on the fuzzy carpet they had just paid a contractor from his work to put in. She'd been so happy, overjoyed really to hide the old, stained creaky floorboards she loathed.

_Thump. Squeak. Thump._

Her hand rubs at her eyes as if trying to knock the sleep from her droopy eyelids. Not paying attention, she nearly trips over the large bundle of fur that had taken to sleeping right in front of the bathroom door next to the heating duct. She struggles not to curse and nudges Petey over. The old lab raises his head barely in question before flopping down again and falling asleep. She relieves herself, staring at the plastic curtain of the shower, getting lost in her sleep riddled mind and the repetitive pattern of stripes before wandering out the door again. She doesn't wake her husband who is face first in his own pillow, arms and legs splayed out like a dead fish.

_Thump. Squeak. Thump._

She smiles a little and runs her eyes over his form. He's a handsome one, sure with a little bit of a beer gut but he hides it with tailored suits and a charming smile. She tugs on her housecoat, tying the lace string before wandering down the hall. The noises get louder as she approaches the twins' room. Her hands pull at the old crystal doorknob and open the old wooden door with a creek.

The two five year old girls, blonde hair tied into braids that lay perfectly against their backs despite the stray hairs that fly every which way, stop and grin at their mother.

"Hi, Momma," they smile, mischievous guilt laced in their voices.

She rolls her eyes, wanders in and picks one up with a groan. She can't believe how big they're getting.

"What are you two doing up?" she sighs, hitching the little girl up on her hip a bit more with a groan. "You've been eating too many cookies," she teases, still looking sternly down at her daughter.

She smiles at her mother a little bit wider, as if begging her not to punish them for jumping on their beds when they're not supposed to. The grin is riddled with missing teeth and Cherry can't help but smile, rolling her eyes once again and putting her down. The other little girl slides off the bed with some difficulty and they rush down the stairs, hitting a creaky board every couple thumps that makes Cherry sigh and push her hair out of her face. It would be a long day as always.

Her days were riddled with monotony. She got up, woke the girls for school, headed down to make breakfast, wrangled the girls to the table, broke up any fighting about who got the prettier glass filled with orange juice, go wake Greg up, get the girls ready for school-Her thought process was interrupted by the phone rang, her hands busy pouring eggs into the pan while the girls ran around the house noisily.

"Girls, get in your seats," she snaps, wiping her hands on her nightgown and wandering over to the phone. She presses the plastic to her ear. "Shae Household. May I ask who's speaking?"

"Cherry! It's Bonnie!" the woman's voice on the other end of the line screeches. Her eyebrows shoot up past her red bangs. She hadn't expected a call from her old college friend. She hadn't expected anything out of the ordinary today actually. She leans against the wall, shoulder resting on the striped wallpaper.

"Bonnie? It's nice to hear from you," she answers with a slight smile, wandering over to mix up the eggs and slide toast into her new toaster. She was excited about that to. There's a man in the background of the other line and she thinks that Bonnie is fighting with him but she can't tell because of the sudden muffling of her voice. Maybe she's holding her hand over the receiver. Finally, she returns with an answer.

"I'm in town! Let's meet for lunch," Bonnie eagerly offers and Cherry's heart skips a beat with a little bit of excitement. Something that she hasn't felt in awhile from anything other than new kitchen appliances, her husband getting a raise at work or getting rid of creaky floorboards in her bedroom. She's still a little confused though. Cherry had dropped out of college when Greg had proposed to her and that last time she had seen Bonnie it person she informed Cherry that she'd be going to Washington for a protest against Vietnam, effectively switching her Art degree credits over to some college near where she'd be working.

"Wait? You're back in Oklahoma?" she ponders, picking absentmindedly at the notepad pinned to the wall next to the phone with the words 'Doctor Martin, Monday 8:30' scribbled in her husband's sloppy hand writing.

"For a bit," Bonnie answers. Cherry needs no more reassurance and she soon agrees to meet her old friend. She hangs up the phone, smiling a little and lost in her thoughts before she feels a tug on her nightgown. She looks down.

"Momma," the little girl whimpers. She's got orange juice running down her own nightgown and tears in her eyes. Her twin is sitting at the table acting as if she's completely innocent. Cherry sighs. It's going to be a long time till two, she sighs to herself.

* * *

The cafe in Downtown Oklahoma City smells distinctly of strong coffee beans and pastries. It makes Cherry smile and when she pushes open the glass door plastered with advertisements for bands, rallies and clubs she scans the room. There's a man on a small stage in the corner strumming his guitar and it feels so very...Bonnie. It warms her heart to be reminded of her. She's excited and she can't seem to wipe the grin off her face as she looks around for the brown-haired woman.

Her eyes finally find her, sitting at a table near the large windows that stare into the street. She's wearing her thick-rimmed glasses, hair tied up into a neat ponytail while her bangs hand just over her eyebrows. Her cat-like blue eyes look over her glasses at the paper laying on the table, scanning quickly over what Cherry knows to be something about the war.

"Bonnie," she grins, approaching the table as she lets her purse hang on her shoulder without her clutching it. This isn't the greatest part of town but she'd do anything to see her old friend again. Her eyes look up at she beams and Cherry can't help her heart dropping a little. She looks so different despite the details she remembers so well. Her eyes have changed and it almost sends a chill up her spine. The sweater she's wearing-now that Cherry can see it up close-is ratty and has a stain above her left breast.

But Bonnie beams up at Cherry and gets up quickly to hug her, chair accidentally smacking into the one behind her, causing an older man to glare at them. She shoots him an apologetic glance while Bonnie pulls her into a tight hug, not seeming to care. She smells like cigarettes, cheap soap and something else.

"Cherry, it's so good to see you. Sit!" she grins and motions towards the free seat across from her, slipping back into her own. Cherry looks around, obviously a bit awkward. She likes the music though and she soon soothes herself mentally as Bonnie motions a barista over. Bonnie orders her something that she assumes (and hopes) is coffee and then folds up the newspaper, slipping it into her large bag that hangs on her chair.

Bonnie either ignores Cherry's discomfort or doesn't seem to recognize it from not seeing her for so long. But she starts to babble on like she always does. As they talk and drink their coffee (or mostly Bonnie talking about politics and the war while Cherry listens dumbly, just happy to see her friend) she notices Bonnie itching her sweater covered arm uncomfortable. Despite Bonnie always being a talker she talks quickly, almost nervously, eyes darting out the window. She's still incredibly intelligent, blathering on about things Cherry only experienced briefly during her one and a half years of college but there's something different about her that she still can't seem to put her finger on.

"A lot of us think the war will end soon," Bonnie tells her, "I just wish that the shooting in Kent, Ohio would have at least woken more people up to what is happening in this country."

Cherry doesn't think that a tragedy like that should be used as a pawn for politics but she nods and sips her coffee quietly, letting Bonnie continue to speak. Years ago she might have at least put a couple words in but she didn't know what to say. She's been so out of the loop. It makes her feel embarrassed, stupid.

When it comes to the time when the barista drops off a check at their table, covered in a tiny little black book she notices Bonnie itching her arm again before reaching for her purse. It doesn't take even a second before Bonnie sighs.

"I am so sorry. I must have forgotten my wallet," she explains and Cherry thinks nothing of it and smiles, brushing her off with a simple hand gesture.

"It's fine. I've got it."

She reaches inside her purse and grabs a ten dollar bill from her wallet, slipping it into the black book before pulling herself up, following Bonnie's lead outside, the little bell above the door announcing their exit. They stand on the curb, both trying to catch a cab, Bonnie still babbling more and more about the war. Cherry doesn't even catch her question.

"Cherry?"

"Huh? Oh I'm sorry I was-" she tries to explain but Bonnie holds a hand up. She seems even more anxious than she did inside the cafe.

"Listen, this is really hard for me to do but...I might need some money...I'm in between jobs since I just moved back here and-" Bonnie begins and Cherry's heart drops. Was this the only reason Bonnie invited her out? She's heartbroken but she nods, eager to help in anyway to possibly get her friend back despite feeling foolish. She swallows and reaches inside her wallet for her check book. Before Bonnie can even get a thank you in a man's voice comes from behind her.

"Excuse me. Ma'am?"

Cherry turns on her heel and freezes, staring into those green-grey eyes she thought she'd never see again. Her heart, previously in her stomach flops around and jumps into her throat that constricts. The man freezes too, looking at her through his glasses. His obviously dyed blonde hair hangs a bit in his face and his outstretched hand holding her checkbook she obviously knocked out of her back stops and hangs at his side.

"Pony?"

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed! I'm hoping this will be a multi-chapter fic. Also, I apologize for any mistakes. I was really eager to post this.**

**-nuseble**


	2. Doctor

**Hi, everyone! Thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites. Let's me know that you all enjoy it. I wrote this listening to Lana Del Ray's 'Young and Beautiful'. I hope you all have the same feeling about the second chapter!**

* * *

"Cherry."

He says her name and it knocks her out of her shocked staring and she finally smiles at him. It's a small one but a smile. Bonnie, standing beside her, seems confused. She looks between her old friend and this man, trying to figure out the connection. With the way they're looking at each other her and any passerby assumes they used to be together. She didn't even catch that Cherry had called him Pony.

But Cherry looks on him differently than that, more important than even a previous lover. He was a person who gave her a chance to change…and she blew it. She likes to think they affected each others lives equally but standing here in the street she suddenly doesn't want to tell him what she's been up to these past eight years.

"Wow, it's…," he tries again, breathless as he looks her over as if he hasn't seen her in a century not just eight years. Suddenly, for Cherry, it feels like yesterday.

They join for an awkward hug, arms jerking to find the right placement. Her arms wrap around his middle and she pats him on the back a little. His sweater is fuzzy and warm. It smells like soap, cigarettes and cologne. It's not the cheap kind either. She pulls away first despite how good he smells and grins at him. He's got black-rimmed glasses, hair done up a little messy but it suits him. There's something about him that she can't place and it's not like the something that Bonnie's got because despite her shame of how little she has changed about her life she's just happy to see him.

Bonnie clears her throat beside him and she wants to shoot a glare at her but she simply recovers and continues the conversation. She doesn't notice that the ring on her hand is a wedding ring for the first time in a long time.

"How have you been?" she asks, knowing it's a loaded question for her but she wants to know what happened to the boy she once knew. He chuckles and she doesn't know why, running his hands through his hair. She can't remember him when he didn't have grease in his hair. That word sounds so far away. Greaser. God.

"I'm actually here teaching. They're letting me get credits for my Masters degree. I'm studying Literature," he offers at her quizzical glance. She smiles fondly, catching a stray hair that had been hanging by her cheek and swiping it behind her ear. She always knew that he'd go into something having to do with his writing. Secretly, she had read his writing when it had been hanging on Mr. Syme's dirty chalkboard, a fat red 'A' written across it in marker that had bled a little bit. There were benefits to being in so many extra-curricular activities after school that no one would give her a second glance when she had been walking down the hall.

"Oh," she responds and it sounds as if she's disappointed. But she expected this and now she comes to the part where she has to admit to defeat. For the stubborn teenager still stuck inside of her this makes her angry, increasing the shame she feels. She looks for a way out now. She wants to get home to her daughters. For them to remind her about what this is all for. She wants to see there big happy smiles and she wants to have to clean up split orange juice. But only for them.

"You know I've actually got to go-"

"Cherry," Bonnie says, the first word she's said in what Cherry assumes to be a couple minutes. She remembers that Bonnie was asking for money. More salt on her open wound. She takes her checkbook suddenly from Pony's hand and he looks confused. She grabs a pen from her bag, pressing the checkbook onto Bonnie's shoulder and she doesn't catch the confused look between Bonnie and Ponyboy. She scribbles out a check for fifty dollars, not even thinking about her husband who checks the bank account every Friday like clockwork. She hands it to her and shoves the pen and checkbook back into her person.

"I'm sorry you two but I really have to go," she answers their confused glances. She hasn't even introduced them yet.

"Well, I've got a car down the block."

Of course he does.

"I can drive you if you want," he offers.

"Well, I've got to go pick up my daughters from school actually," she sighs. She feels a need to go with him that she can't explain and frankly in this situation where her head is spinning she doesn't want to. He looks a little surprised. Maybe he was under the impression that he had changed her too. It hurts.

"Daughters?" he asks and his eyes go to her hand clutching the strap of her purse as he makes the connection between children and marriage. Suddenly, the diamond ring on her finger seems huge, weighing her finger down with every little movement she makes. She laughs to cover up her discomfort.

"Twins actually," she tells him. It's the only thing she's proud of in her life. Those two little girls are her world no matter how many times they make her want to rip her hair out.

"Well, I'm great with kids. Really, let me give you a ride," he offers again.

Of course he is.

Cherry has to at least making up a little bit for the fact that she just threw fifty dollars away and anything to escape this stranger that has taken over her friend's body. So, she nods and then looks to Bonnie.

"It was nice seeing you," she smiles, easily playing an old friend and not a confused housewife like she has become. Bonnie nods and still seems a little shocked, the crumple check in hand where Cherry had placed it a moment ago. She pulls Cherry in for a hug once the shock wears off and Cherry, again, is the first one to pull away.

"You know where to find me, okay?" Cherry reassures her before leaving Bonnie on the sidewalk as traffic goes by, honks erupting from drivers eager to get somewhere they aren't.

* * *

The car ride takes only about twenty minutes or so. Pony's never been really much of a talker so it doesn't surprise her when the ride consists of the radio playing low, exactly a little too low so she can't hear it and them trying to toss small talk back and forth. Finally, they settle into a comfortable silence. It's comforting and that surprises her. The only time she speaks is when she directs him to her daughters' school. It's in the suburbia surrounding Oklahoma City, lower upper class and full of developments dotted with lots for sale and new homes. The old homes that are still lived in are beautiful, renovated and large.

The school is a small one but made of bright red brick with a small picket fence to the side where the kids are playing. They arrive just on time, children are seeking out their parents that are standing outside the school and mothers holding the hands of their children dotingly crossing the half-circle rode that loops around the parking lot from the street. She follows Pony's suit as he gets out of the car and she's actually glad when he doesn't rush over and open her own door for her like her hands don't work. She readjusts her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

Pony gives her a reassuring smile, telling her that he'll follow her. She enters the crowd of parents and youngsters alike. The glass door of the school opens and closes so frequently she thinks they should just put a door stopper and let the kids fly out. Pony and her stand outside, waiting for those two little blonde-haired bobbing heads to come out of the open and shut door but the crowd trickles to nothing.

Cherry's worried, scanning around looking for her kids. Pony obviously notices and puts a reassuring hand on the small of her back, "Maybe they're inside?" he offers.

She nods and lets out a sigh of relief. Maybe. She wanders into the kindergarten, looking around and finally she stops at the receptionist. She tells her the last name and all of a sudden the receptionist looks uncomfortable. Cherry's terrified more than confused. The receptionist directs her to her daughter's classroom and inside is where she finds the two of them. Katie is sitting next to her sister, calm as always, kicking her feet as her feet doesn't touch the ground in the large chair she's sitting on. Her hair is tied into two pigtails and her little backpack is on the floor sitting against the seat legs. The room's walls are painted with finger painting art and cheesy little posters remembering them to wash their hands after going to the potty and the elderly woman sitting at the desk is looking over her glasses with beady eyes at what Cherry assumes to be papers on the desk.

Cherry's heart drops when she sets eyes on Stephanie. She's sitting next to her sister, eyes red and puffy from tears. Her hair is a mess and her book bag is nowhere to be found. She rushes over and calls out their names. Katie only looks up and grins but Stephanie runs over and clings to her mother's skirt, beginning to cry again. Ponyboy stays at a respectable distance, unsure of what to do really.

"Sweetie, what's wrong...," Cherry asks, combing her fingers soothingly through her daughter's hair. She picks her up, allowing Stephanie to push her face into her mother's neck. Her teacher, obviously aware now of the commotion, wanders out. Her posture is as straight as a stick and she looks something like a bird with her large nose, beady eyes staring at Cherry through her glasses.

She hands Cherry Stephanie's bag.

"Your daughter...," she begins, grinding her teeth together. "I caught playing...doctor with a boy her age at playground time."

She can tell this woman is judging her, harsh eyes staring at her, taking in everything about her appearance. Even the fact that the man with her is not her husband. She's not ashamed or embarrassed. Her daughters are perfect. It's what children do. All she can feel is hate from some woman who doesn't know her obviously thinking she's a bad mother.

"This behavior is not acceptable at our school," the woman hisses. "I don't know what you allow in your household-"

Cherry holds out a hand for Katie, "Kate, we're leaving."

Kate hesitates, as if trying to pick who to obey.

"_Now_, Katherine," Cherry snaps and Katie immediately jumps up and clings to her mother's hand. She turns to leave before turning around and for the first time speaking her mind.

"Take the stick out of your ass."

* * *

**Looks like Cherry's had enough for one day (one lifetime really). I hope you all enjoyed and as always concrits are always welcome!**

**-nuseble**


End file.
